Goto Maki signs with Avex!

Congratulations to ex-H!P member Goto Maki for garnering a deal that could only rocket her to even greater heights. Hello!Online has the full details here including a full translation of an article that appeared in newspapers on June 19.

Shame on H!P for letting a person of such talent as Maki go, I don’t want to take away from any of the girls who sing for H!P, but Maki was one of their real and true singers. The girl has a great voice. And considering she seems to be the one person from Momusu everyone in Japan names immediately once you say you are a fan or Morning Musume, double shame on them for letting one of their most recognizable talents go. What on earth prompted them to waste her so? She has some great singles, but they really seemed to be letting her go right before she decided to leave. Did they think she was old hat or something? That there was no where else they could take her? I’d really like to know the business decisions behind their move.

Whatever the case this is fantastic news for Maki, and I am so very excited to see what she has in store for us and where she can go from here. With Avex she’s at the starting line and she’s going to be with us for the long run yet. She might be one of the few “talents” who break away from their parent agency only to find even greater fame and fortune in the embrace of another.

Go Maki-chan! Go!

Across the Board

Several nights ago I had another H!P dream. It took place in feudal Japan and starred Takahashi Ai and Sean Bean ♥♥♥♥ Anyway all I remember is that Ai-chan lived in a house at the top of a really tall hill and there was a flight of wooden steps inlaid into the hillside. Sean Bean lived at the bottom of the hill and was like her bodyguard or something. Everyone was wearing traditional Japanese clothing too. Not really kimono, but the everyday man’s dress of the period. Pretty cool dream, kind of Blade of the Immortal-ish. But that’s not the reason for this post.

First bit of news! Morning Musume’s upcoming single title has been released, Resonant Blue. It doesn’t really strike me as a title for an energetic song. Blue is known to be a calming color, and for it to resonate calmness, my thoughts tend to stray towads the ballad category. Though really, title sometimes has nothing to do with the song itself, and Nanase Aikawa’s Midnight Blue is anything but calm.

The PV for C-ute’s Lalala Shiawase no Uta has been released. The song is really cute and energetic, the beat is great, a very happy song and something I’ll definitely listen to when I need cheering up. I like it! (Hey Mikey!) The costumes are cute, though I think they could do without the second layer of feathers. The lining at the top is enough, and what is with the putting on make up theme in the videos? I’m having flashbacks to Pretty Guardian Sailormoon and Luna always applying make-up when she wasn’t eating.

Buono’s latest PV, Renai Rider, is out, has been for a while. I’ve just been out of the loop for a bit. The song is really awesome, as has been commented on before by many others. The girls are all in top form, especially Momoko, who I have problems with in Berryz when they make her do that cute nasally thing with her voice. Here she just nails it and it’s awesome. (Does her jacket really say Suicide of Love?) Could the awesomeness be attributed to the fact that Tsunku had nothing to do with this track? Perish the thought.

Congratulations to Kaorin on the birth of her son!

Lastly for those of you currently going through the jaded phase of your H!P fandom, stick with it. This happens to everyone, especially after their favorite idols split their favorite group, are rocked by scandal, or idol fandom just suddenly seems ridiculous in the first place. You liked these girls at the first for something, for me it was the music, and after my own jaded period, (I would say late 2005 - late 2006) it was the music that drew me back in. Something will spark again and you’ll be pulled right back. Be patient. I won’t lie and say your fervor will be back to what it was in the beginning, but you’ll reach another level of fandom all together. One where the sun may not rise and set with your favorite idol, but the day will be brighter because of them.

Starts at Biyuden drifts, then ends

Biyuden is disbanding?

I’ll admit right off I didn’t “discover” Biyuden until 2006. I knew they were around, had heard of them, but didn’t take the time to listen to them as my devotion to solely Morning Musume was pretty strong at the start. (My second H!P group was W, followed by Melon Kinenbi…. then I discovered Biyuden) The first song (and PV) I sampled was Issai Gassai Anata ni A-Ge-Ru which I thought was terribly, infectiously adorable. I had actually heard Kacchoii ze! JAPAN before this, but had no idea what I was listening to at the time other than the fact that I liked it. When Aisucreamu to My Purin came out (and what a great single it was) I thought this was a group to pay attention to. Koisuru Angel Heart was a solid follow up, though I abhored Jaja Uma Paradise. Despite that, I thought they were on pretty solid ground, so what happened?

Perhaps H!P thought it was time for a change. Perhaps they’re going to start pushing the hell out of Ongaku Gatas. On that note I’ll shamefully admit to just noticing Rika in OG a week or two ago. I mean, I knew she was in there, saw her in the PV, but it didn’t register as I was too busy looking out for Yossie, Konkon, Mai and Arisa. When it finally clicked and I saw her I was kind of shocked. My first thought was, What about Biyuden? Now apparently, I have my answer.

I’m kind of sad about this news, but not really all that surprised. Maybe it is time to shake things up over at H!P. There’s been some comments about the future of the “Elders Club” being in jeopardy, and I couldn’t agree more. Excluding Biyuden, let’s take a look at the members:

- Nakazawa Yuko - maybe releases a single a year
- Abe Natsumi - ditto
- Yasuda Kei - seems to have regulated herself to variety shows
- Yaguchi Mari - semi-retired (this is a damn tragedy)
- Ongaku Gatas - Yossie, Konkon & Mai
- GAM - Miki & Aya - questionable future following Miki’s “scandal”
- Inaba Atsuko - back up vocalist
- Ayaka - needs to join Ongaku Gatas
- Melon Kinenbi - been on the shelf too long, need some attention STAT
- Maeda Yuki - releases a new single once a decade

Of the groups and soloists, only 1 group is currently active, visible and releasing stuff. That group being Ongaku Gatas. Melon Kinenbi kind of count, but they haven’t had a real solid backing from H!P for a while now. It’s almost like they’re adrfit in their own raft, attatched to H!P by a tremulous life line. You know, I’m actually more surprised that Melon Kinenbi hasn’t been disbanded, or that the girls haven’t split the label and tried their luck elsewhere. They are a solid group of singers and they are constantly given the shaft.

Anyway, back to Biyuden…. Rika aside as she currently has a group, I’m more worried about the future of Erika and Yui whom I both really like. I think there’s some real talent there, that given a greater push, could really shine. I hope they get a fair chance. There’s some hints dropped about possible solo careers? Perhaps H!P are looking to fill that sexy gap left when Maki left?

Nono is a Mama!

According to Hello!Online and their source Sanspo Tsuji gave birth to a baby girl at 12:45am on Monday, Japan Time. Tsuji and her husband decided to name the baby Noa (a pretty name, ne?).

Congratulations to the new parents and to Tsuji for a successful delivery! Here’s wishing them all the best in the future! ♥♥♥

A new video and a new Baby!

I went away for a couple days and look what I come back to!

 First off is Momusu’s newest single, Onna ni Sachi Are. When I first heard the song I was thankful for another techno song, but the more I listened to it, the more I became convinced that it really wasn’t anything special. It just struck me as another techno song in the new Momusu image, which is fine, but what I really want is another stand out hard beat song like The Manpower. The PV however, is pretty damn sweet, even with it’s minamilistic approach and even if the new outfits look alarmingly like The Peace outfits.

Ai-chan looks majorly hot with that hairdo in this video. She’s got a total flapper/brothel madame vibe going on that I really like. Koharu is up front and center from the very start, and despite people’s griping about it, it’s probably a good idea for reasons discussed before. Not much to say about Junjun and Linlin except that they both look fantastic.

All in all the PV actually saved the song for me. It gave it that much more of a hard edge to push me over the meter from “Eh.” to “Yeah!”

——-

Next is the announcement of Kaorin’s engagement and pregnancy! Congratulations to Kaori! I don’t really have much to say other than that I wish her the best and I’m sure she’ll make a wonderful Mother!

More on Tsuji (EDITED)

Tsuji will be retiring from the idol business. I’m sad to see her go, but very happy for her that she’s getting married and starting a family.

The things is, I think the lack of scandal here is that UFA & Tsunku knew that she was dating. If they didn’t, I think there would have been a much stronger reaction from them than the “She’s planning to retire.” and from Tsunku’s comments he seems to fully support her.

So far from what I’ve read there’s been overwhelming support of Tsuji, her condition and her relationship. I am surprised though by the amount of comments I read about hardships Tsuji might experience in the future. If Kago’s salary description was true, Tsuji probably made the same, meaning if she was smart she saved and has boatloads of money that most young parents don’t start out with. She can afford to be a stay at home Mom and buy her kids the best.

Hallelujah!

It has been confirmed by UFA that Kago will be returning to H!P sometime in the future! Sources Ikkimashoi and Hello!Online have the full details, but I’ll recap.

Aibon has been working at the agency since January 23, serving tea to customers and answering the phones. The agency wants to build up her confidence again, and show her how the company works from the bottom up. She really wants to sing again, and is tremendously sorry about the scandal of the previous year. UFA wants to bring her back, but the manner and time has yet to be decided.

This is fantastic news! What a terrific thing to wake up to this morning! I am so damn excited, 2007 looks like it’s shaping up to be a good year.

Hitomi’s brother killed in traffic accident

Yoshizawa Hitomi’s younger brother was killed on January 11 in an unfortunate traffic accident. This is truly horrible news and a complete tragedy. He was 16 years old at the time of his death.

Heartfelt condolences go out to Hitomi and her family.

There is no word yet from Up Front Agency on how this will affect concerts and/or Hitomi’s graduation. I am sure she’ll be given the proper time to grieve, and we should all support her in any decisions she decides to make.

EDIT Slight translation of news article

The article states that Hitomi’s younger brother (Kouta?) who was 16 was involved in a traffic accident around 10pm on the 11th, and that he passed away shortly after midnight on the morning of the 12th, from severe head and neck injuries. The accident took place at the Kagurazaka crossing in Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo.

The driver of the car is being investigated for negligence. Apparently he is 20 years old and a vocational student, he received slight head injuries due to the accident.

Apparently through a relative, the staff (of the paper) has learned that Hitomi and her parents are not making comments about the situation, and ask that the funeral be a family affair.

Yoshizawa Hitomi to Graduate!

Yes, it’s true! Yoshizawa Hitomi will graduate from Morning Musume and become a solo artist for Hello! Project on May 6, 2007. If there is a God he’ll let me win the lottery so I can be there for her graduation concert. XD The concert tour is titled “Sexy 8 Beat” The possible title of a new album? We can hope?

Fujimoto Miki will become the new leader, with Takahashi Ai acting as sub-leader.

Anyway, this opens up lots of doors for Hitomi, and while I’ll miss her around Momusu, I’ll be excited for her solo stuff. Hopefully she doesn’t get the shaft as Kaori and Kei have, but I doubt it as not only is she going solo, but she will be participating in group units as well.

Hopefully she’ll get a new photo book as well. As for solo artist material, consensus seems to lean towards upbeat and funky songs. One has to wonder what her solo image will be like though. I don’t think Tsunku will go for the ero-kawaii angle that Maki has taken, I’m sure he’ll keep her girl next door image going strong. It remains to be seen if any changes will be made, or if she’ll evolve over time as a solo artist after being allowed to break free from the cute girly style of Momusu.